This invention relates to a ski tow apparatus, and more particularly to a portable ski tow apparatus which is adapted for use with a continuous loop rope tow.
With the sport of skiing gaining in popularity each year, and being participated in by ever wider ranging age and skill groups, it becomes advantageous to provide equipment for towing skiers over intermediate and shorter length ski slopes in order to give these skiers the same advantages of automatic ski lifts that are available in the advanced commercial ski resorts. The task of climbing back to the top of a ski hill one has traversed down may be less difficult in terms of distance covered and elevation climbed when the hill is a short or intermediate length slope, but the number of times a person may proceed up and down such a hill during a day's skiing makes it very desirable to provide some mechanical assistance for the upward climb. Mechanical devices which have attempted to meet this need in the past have been either unduly expensive or burdensome, and have forced the skier who chooses to ski on a smaller, non-commercial slope to climb the hill under his own power.
Furthermore, there are literally hundereds of thousands of intermediate length ski slopes in nearly every region, on both public and private property, which would provide an excellent ski recreation site but for the fact that they are too remotely located or sparsely used to justify the installation of mechanical ski tow equipment. Therefore, skiers who desire the mechanical assist to return them to the top of a ski slope must attend crowded commercial skiing areas at considerable expense and inconvenience to themselves and at some sacrifice to their enjoyment of the sport of skiing.
The present invention, being completely portable in nature, may be transported to any suitable ski slope, and may be set up into operable configuration in a few minutes time, and may be similarly disassembled for return transport when the day's skiing activities are concluded. Conversely, the present apparatus may be installed on a private or public ski slope at the beginning of the winter season and left in place during the entire skiing season, and subsequently disassembled in the spring for storage over the summer months. The economy and simplicity of operation of the invention, as well as its particular novel safety features, enables it to be used by young children on a ski slope that is unattended by any adult. Furthermore, the emphasis is increasing toward a shorter ski for use in conjunction with trick skiing events such as "hot dogging," free style, ballet and jumping, where a fairly short ski run is desirable so that one may quickly repeat an identical ski routine over and over to develop a sense of timing. The present invention is particularly useful to assist in practicing such acrobatic ski routines. The safety features of the invention prevent contact with any moving parts and disable the moving rope tow mechanism whenever a skier comes into too close proximity to the apparatus. One of the safety features used with the present invention is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 3,809,369, issued May 7, 1974.